Gen Z

noun

ˈjen-ˈzē 

: generation z

Gen Z is as nuanced and complex as every generation before them … In fact, they are considered to be the most diverse and multicultural generation ever.

—Andrew Kelly and Guy Cierzan

Gen Z is incredibly media savvy, so the challenge for marketers is trying to connect with an audience that already knows every marketing trick in the book.

—Chirag Kulkarni

—often used before another noun

Gen Z activists are using social media to start movements and gather the momentum they need to make positive changes in the world.

—Savanna Smith

—often hyphenated in such use

Gen-Z students/consumers

Gen Zer

ˈjen-ˈzē-ər 

noun

or Gen-Zer

plural Gen Zers or Gen-Zers

… even the oldest Gen Zer was just a tween when the iPhone was released in 2007.

—Ryan Kelly

Though many tend to lump them together, millennials and Gen Zers are two very different cohorts.

—Chad Recchia

Examples of Gen Z in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Gen Z is having second thoughts about higher education. —Preston Fore, Fortune, 15 Apr. 2026

Gen Z is used to making purchases on Amazon and social media via mobile phones, so brick-and-mortars can feel like a novelty, said Grain Carter, the associate professor at the Fashion Institute of Technology. —Domenica Bongiovanni, USA Today, 15 Apr. 2026

Gen Z, those born between 1997 and 2012, started saving and investing at 19 on average, according to a 2024 Charles Schwab report. —Annie Nova, CNBC, 14 Apr. 2026

Gen Z is driving much of the change. —Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 14 Apr. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1996, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for Gen Z

• bens
• cleanse
• dens
• gens
• glens
• hens
• jens
• pens
• tens
• wrens
• zens
• cheyennes